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I will miss the Mooney speed and efficiency. I look forward to seeing my Mooney friends at OSH and other venues. My mission is the same, family trips and Pilots n Paws. The plan is to go slower and burn more dinosaurs doing just that. Sean

I received awesome news today -- GOT MY 3RD CLASS MEDICAL! After fighting to overcome heart failure, pace maker install, and diabetes, I was approved today! That took almost 2 years but it’s finally done... Just goes to show you can overcome obstacles with perseverance and hard work... I’m beyond excited... -Don

Small update: New Vernatherm arrived. I tested it against the old one...here are the numbers using my candy thermometer- Expansion from room temp to 150 deg F. Expansion from 150 - 185 degrees F Old Vernatherm: 0.007“ 0.140” New Vernatherm: 0.046”. 0.250” At the 150-185F expansion, the difference between them is 0.110”, which is Approximately the thickness of two dimes. I cannot accurately measure for comparison the length of the each valve from the gasket surface end to the tip of the valve that seats against the engine oil pressure orifice, as the new valve has a different taper ( I couldn’t tell exactly where the valve seats on the taper against the engine without coating it with blue dye and screwing it in- I’m not at the hangar). So, not very scientific or precise here, but interesting to note that the new valve does move sooner, and does move farther than the old valve. I would like to know the exact distance between the gasket surface of the engine and the oil galley orifice where the valve seats, and I would like to know the length of each valve from the gasket surface to the area of the taper where it seats. Then I’d like to know the seating pressure at various temps- that would give me some real data.... but I’m way too busy and short on time to work on that- I just want to go fly! (The new vernatherm is the one on the left - the more silver one with the pinched nut) One other thing- the old valve tip feels ratchety when pushing the spring down. The new valve tip moves very smoothly against the spring Hopefully it will go in Saturday, and we’ll see if it amounts to a hill of beans.

Freedom to choose what you want to drive. Where and when? Priceless

Tesla's of today don't have to be for everyone. But for what they are designed to do, they are very nice. It's pretty common to have two cars in most families. We have three cars and two drivers. Having a Tesla or another electric car as one of them could be quite convenient. I have one on order, but might or might not take delivery. I'm still waiting to see what the economy does in the next 6 months and what happens with my employment. Not all my cars excel at the same tasks. This last weekend driving over Imogene pass in SW Colorado, the BMW M3 would have been useless, but the 4Runner was perfect. Getting my wife back and forth to work 7 miles each way, summer and winter in Denver, the Tesla Model Y sounds like a perfect solution to me. Of course she could do it in a much cheaper car... but come on... this is a forum full of people who own private airplanes... And from friends of mine who own Tesla's, once you have one, you start using it more and more for more types of travel and next thing you know the car with the ICE under the hood is up for sale. The day Amazon decides it's cheaper to use electric automated trucks, the trucking industry as we know it will be gone. And they are working that direction very quickly with unlimited funds at their disposal. One of my customers is AAA. Somedays I think they're still trying to figure out why no one is stopping by for the little TripTix books they put together. Think of Kodak, Xerox, TomTom and Magellan. And now technology is able to replicate its self and improve its self. So hang on, the rocket has been lit, and there's no un-lighting it.

I’d of taken that risk if I saw it in time....

I just finished listening to a webinar put on by Aviation Week entitled, "Electrification: Dead End or the Future of Aviation?" Obviously it was slanted toward the "Future of Aviation" point of view. It brought up several valid points of where we are going … by 2035 at the earliest. 1. Is the future one source or more likely a mix of hydrogen, electric, hybrid, synthetic fuel, etc. 2. Currently (without subsidies) electric is 3-4X more expensive than current fossil fuels. 3. The progress of biofuels has been much slower than anticipated. 4. Synthetic fuels are being worked on, but they are only in the early stages. 5. Hydrogen has storage and airframe integration issues, but these issues are only engineering issues (LOL … from an engineer). 6. It was noted that this movement is going to make airplane aerodynamic designs more efficient, which is where most of the gain will come from. These changes can also be accomplished on current airplanes. 7. Airbus states their next, single-aisle, airline will be 30% more efficient … 20% coming from the propulsion and 10% from the airframe design. The head of Rolls-Royce stated that the 20% from propulsion is more than extremely aggressive. 8. The real answer could be a combination of all of them. For example electric power boost on takeoff is possible. 9. Lots of talk about airlines with much shorter range which would need to include a different business model. In other words, a true regional airplane that wouldn't have the capability of flying the longer range missions (200-300 mile range). 10. The TRL (Technical Readiness Level) of all of these new technologies (with the exception of battery electric) is between 0 and 2 and ALL have a long ways to go. Just my top 10 … that I can remember with my notes. The webinar is planned to be posted online within 24 hours. Right now there is a beautiful bicycle anxiously waiting for me to put another 30 miles on her. Not emissions free, but only a small portion of a horsepower required. It's a new day, it's a new dawn and I can once again be fully emotional

Yes, sorry. I set the altitude pre-select to the altitude of the hold on the missed approach. So if the MAP procedure is to climb to 6000 right turn to 360 direct HYGEN, I'd set the altitude pre-select to 6000 and the climb to 500 ft/min (or as required). The IFD540 will handle the right turn to the fix and the hold. So all I have to do is push the button on the pre-select and add power.

“Don’t get dragged in by Chino” “Even if the factory is forced to close....nobody benefits from the rumors..” I’ve been thinking on and off today, what words to offer up for Chino’s rumor post this morning........ Anthony supplied the words . What possible good comes from rumors ...... none! It’s best always to know the facts and truths before jumping to conclusions, or making judgments based on someone’s false or misleading information, whether intentional or not . This holds true in ANY topic !

Nothing to apologize for. How often do we get a taste of the simply joy of a kid and a new experience when we’re adults? Enjoy your Mooney. I still have to apologize to my wife after an excellent flight - apologize because I’m talking animated and happily while to her it is kind of just another flight. However to me, I’ve again slayed gravity and mastered great circle routes. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Exactly the way I took it, you were sharing an emotion of happiness as you were seeing something pretty cool with your pride and joy. Absolutely nothing to be sorry about

Removed from a 1979 J Model. Pilots Trim switch is included. Good overall condition, the co-pilots Mooney emblem cover does have small crack in the plastic. These are not a direct swap without the elevator control yoke and universals from a donor airplane, so I have revised this listing to include one of those yokes as well (removed from the same donor airplane as the yokes/shafts). Great opportunity for someone to upgrade their yokes/shafts in a vintage bird and also eliminate an AD. My apologies some of the pics are sideways- they are right side up in my computer so not sure why they are being skewed. Price does not include shipping.

I may have been one of the first to run into this. SureFly worked with me and even sent a new unit to see if it was a clocking issue at assembly. We finally figured out the gear issue and they sent the newer version of the gear and it was all resolved. Regarding the break in of the gear, they are well oiled and likely not a major concern. I think the new gear is the path of least resistance. Regarding the MAP hose, there are a couple of threads with images of various ways to accommodate it. I can appreciate the frustration, but at the same time it can’t be easy to design a system to adapt to over 60 years worth of aircraft of varying manufacture and configuration. I’ve been rather happy with mine after the initial installation issues. Cold starts are near automobile like, hot starts are more consistent.

There was a report of difficulty during install for various mags... because a part was different than expected... So... for a few bucks more, swapping out the errant part is a possibility... The electronic mags guys are just finding out how many different versions of mags are really out in the field.... I think Rob @takair may have detailed what he had to do to get the mag up to speed for proper installation... Being off a few degrees isn’t going to make anyone happy... I think I remember the Woodruff issue... and not the Parker one... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a-

New airframes were less expensive in yesteryear. On the other hand, we have a bounty of pre-owned aircraft that mostly didn't exist back then. Our preowned aircraft are far less than the aircraft of yesteryear, but probably not all that much more expensive to operate. Mooney's biggest competition wasn't Cirrus, it was older Mooneys. You can buy a vintage airframe and have it restored to like new condition and give it a glass panel (which also didn't exist in yesteryear) and pay proportionate to what an airplane cost long ago. This could be the Golden age of general aviation if we really wanted it so.

I do not have much input on the Tesla thread portion of this post. But I would like to thank you guys for the encouraging words on Mooney airplanes. I am continuing my pursuit of putting one in my own hanger. In regards to the Tesla information it is very entertaining to read.

I did my own in a 67F, this panel came from Hendricks mfg. it cost 2.5amu or there abouts, took about 20-30 hrs...Had to remove prop and mixture cables, good excuse to replace. That prob took the most time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just MHO, but I admit I am completely blown away by Tesla technology and innovation. 10 years ago when nobody could get electric cars to go 100 miles, Tesla figured out how to do 300 miles- in a high performance, luxury car at that. Amazing. But when it came time for me to buy a new car, I bought an Audi. I can buy a lot of dead dinosaurs for the $60,000 difference in price.

I have ridden in my boss's Tesla. Frankly, I'm not too impressed with cars in general, and I didn't think it was any better than my BMW 1-er in fitment and quality. Sure it has plenty of torque and it can go fast and accelerate very quickly, but it's way more than is legal or safe to use on most highways, and my car can more than double the interstate speed limit. His Tesla gets maybe 200-250 miles on a charge, I can go over 400 on a tank. He paid more than 3x for his Tesla what I paid for my car, brand new. It has a nice shiny screen to watch movies on while letting the Autopilot deliver one to the scene of the accident. As for the environmental benefits of using electricity as the source of power, I used to work in the generation business and I know a thing or two about how it gets generated and the overall environmental impact. Not terribly impressed with the supposed benefits, even before considering the impact of battery production and its long supply chain. As far as I can tell, Teslas at this point make nice bragging toys, and they perform quite well, but certainly not enough to justify the price tag.

Ok, lets bet on this quarter...Ill buy your drinks at the next Mooney Summit if GM or Ford or Chryslers profit is more than Teslas q2. Or heck, Q3, We know they didnt beat them q1. Heck, Ill buy your drinks at the Summit anyway an interesting charting site you can get free cash flow, long term debt, profit etc from for all of them (and many other companies) hypercharts.co

Swapping stock to a standard 6 pack is no big deal. Inexpensive if you can do it yourself, and can be done in a day or two depending on how far things move. I wouldnt pass pass on a good airplane because it has the old layout. That would be silly.

Cutting a new panel can be done relatively inexpensively, depending on how much involvement the owner provides. You can manufacture your own panel (using a template or your own custom design) and have your A&P install it as a minor mod, or install it yourself and have your A&P inspect and sign off your work. The real cost comes when you start replacing the steam gauges you have for the glass ones you want. tom

If you like working with your hands, you can do it yourself for not a lot of dough. I had access to a water jet system to cut a new panel from aluminum and did the work myself under the supervision of an A&P IA. The cost for that neglecting my labor, was < 0.5AMU. Doing it yourself gives you ideas, and a chance to change things up for your liking, and spot potential problems (like broken panel isolation mounts). We decided to get rid of the EGT selector and install an engine monitor. The cost of a JPI900, again installed by us under supervision was < 4AMU. Here's a link showing what we did:

You don’t have to know what the sold price is to watch the market. look at the ones that come up and go off, and the ones that languish. If it comes to market and is gone within a few weeks, you can almost bet it was priced appropriately. If it sits for months, well, it’s got issues not advertised, or just too high, either way, price is wrong. not 100% accurate, but pretty darn close.

They have hundreds of frame styles, look around and see. I get regular glasses and prescription sunglasses [a pair for each vehicle so I never leave them in the other car], but I wear Halos in the plane so really don't know about arm thickness; I generally get thick ones on my sunglasses anyway, so I can tell by feel if I'm wearing them or my regular glasses.

As a career EE I'm not so sure it is as 'crazy' as you think. Beyond the dependence upon EXTERNAL electrical power, I have seen enough ESD caused electronic component failures to be VERY nervous with both mags being electronic. Nearby lightning strike comes to mind. Further, beyond easy starts (and, one E-mag will do that) I'm not convinced they provide much, if any, benefit for a stationary engine such as those in our aircraft. I'm happy to keep my tractor mags

I used to think the safe number was 47 not 46 so that was 2500 and 22 and since it's a C with only the single EGT I can only go by the lean to rough then rich to smooth so no real idea how rich of peak that is. I've only ever managed to get it to LOP once what a magical moment. I normally fly much easier like 2400 20 which yields around 135 knots but was fun to stretch it out. AI is about 2mph fast based on GPS runs. Most likely higher than 75% on those flights. For me it's all based on OAT cause Snoopy likes cold air. Biggest challenge is keeping things cool up front.

4 years have passed since that article... are we any closer to being allowed DUEL E mags?

It takes a ball mover to prompt de utters to get wit da program! I still love my hoodie!!

I bet it will also make Tesla look parsimonious.

It's only 1050 because I have FIKI installed. That cost a bit in UL, but I have FIKI and don't regret it and still have an ok UL. A non FIKI Eagle certainly has quite a bit more.

ACR= Anti-Cam Round out places like The yard store sells them and many other aircraft suppliers has them. https://www.yardstore.com/phillips-2-acr-b-4x4-bit It kind hard to see in picture but has "teeth" to help grab the screw.

Mike, if you think the electric cars make Lexus look old and antiquated, and Mitch, if you're impressed by the Tesla X, hang onto your hats late this year and into the next year. Cadillac is going to make Tesla look old and antiquated. Got to check out a 2021 Escalade at our store recently, I don't even have words for the technology in it. Yes, it is "currently" a gas model, but the all electric Cadillacs are coming, and they are something else...

Gents, don’t get dragged in by Chino... The clouds have been blocking his part of the Mooney world for an inordinate amount of time... Yes, bad news, real or fictional does make people think twice before pulling the trigger... Serious people are always thinking twice anyway... MS has many X-Mooney employees and family too... Not all are embittered by their experience... We even have the two people that created the Mooney Movie....’boots on the ground’.... way cool if you haven’t seen it... It is better to have a healthy Mooney factory than a closed one... Auwde, the Mooney plant has a history of being closed for various reasons in its life... usually economy driven... When it closed in Y2K... I bought a pre-flown M20C... Most of the wear parts I ever needed were available from aircraft hardware suppliers and Lycoming.... Today, for the more challenging to get parts... we have something called owner supplied parts... where a community the size of MS has been successful at properly building the required parts... During the Great Recession, The plant was down for some time again... I bought a pre-flown M20R... So... people looking to buy a plane will want to do there homework... if buying a pre-flown Mooney, the plant being closed doesn’t change things very much.... oddly... Talking up the points about the plant being closed will wash out the weaker hands at the plane buying table... somewhat artificially lowering the prices... by making fewer buyers available... Even if the plant is forced to close... nobody benefits from the rumors... 2020 is going to be a tough year... We have experienced a very sharp recession... fast down, and a pretty quick up trend for the economy... unemployment soared... a pandemic has spread across the globe... Of course, Main Street is separate from Wall Street... Buying a plane will be more challenging for main streeters... If you are looking to buy a pre-flown Mooney... thank people that point out problems at the factory... They are helping you with your price negotiations... PP thoughts only, not a plane sales guy... or sales disruptor... If buying a plane and speed and efficiency are important.... Go Mooney! Best regards, -a-

At 10500 WOT 2500 this calcs out to around 145 knots. Pretty amazing for 180 horsepower

Tab 8 of this thread has some more info on the gear for those experiencing this. https://mooneyspace.com/topic/28136-surefly-certified/page/8/?tab=comments#comment-493491

Mike, I get that you are a Tesla fan boy. Nothing wrong with that. How many quarters has Tesla made a profit in the history of the company? Is there a shortage of oil/fuel in the next 100 years that I am unaware of? Hating on Big three to me is a little like what ChinoGuy rolls. What is the point? Why has thread creep entered into electric cars? Is Tesla making electric engines for aircraft? This thread was about the direction of Mooney the manufacturer and has crept into Cirrus and now Tesla. I get Cirrus. Tesla, not so much... My questions are legitimate. I am NOT attacking you. It appeared to me that YOU were attacking the U.S. auto industry. It is clear that electric cars are viable and getting better. That is great. Our Mooney aircraft operate on ICE. It appears that you disagree with ICE engines and want electric to replace them. I do not. The market will pick who wins, unless the government chooses for us. If we care about the environment why aren’t diesel semis operating on Natural Gas? Why hasn’t a lead alternative been certified?

I went with Aircraft Magneto Service per advice of the MSr’s here. This is what I paid for exchanged units in Nov 2017: Minus the 300 core fee so $1582 plus return shipping of the cores.

Neither of the current approved electronic mags supplies its own power or has a backup power source. Too many things can go wrong in your electrical system to count on it. If the emags ever get certified with their own power, then maybe but they’ve been trying for a long time. They sound like BK at this point.

Kinda exciting I think!!!

You sure you don't work for the new Mooney Company?

2XM is finally home! It was a fun packed "vacation" that included few hours of familiarization flight in the Phoenix area, finding squawks that had to be addressed, and then finally making the trip up on July 2nd. Can't thank Frank at Chandler Aviation enough for working with me and getting this plane back in shape. Took roughly five weeks from start to finish and we covered a lot of issues! Also thanks to the instructors that were part of this journey and helping a newbie getting started on the right leg. The return trip was planned from KCHD -> KHND -> KLMT -> KPAE. First time up above 10,000 ft and with O2. We were sailing smoothly at 16,500 ft and heard pireps from pilots below for turbulence :-) The turbos kept a steady 800-1000 ft / min climb despite the hot temperatures of the desert environments. Of course, there are squawks but they will be addressed over time. But does anyone know where I can get my hands on the Mooney switch covers, esp. the RECOG LIGHT one. The switch itself is in working condition. Also, Bruce's Covers fit the plane like a glove. I was worried about the antennas but they seem to able to take the information from the antenna worksheet and photos and come out with a perfectly fitting cover! One last thing - any recommendations for a 28V ground power unit for the 252? Need it mostly for playing around with avionics or updating them but wouldn't mind trickle charging if possible. I am looking at a hangar. Enjoy the pictures:

My mags get IRAN'd once at 500 hours then they are gone at 1000 hours replaced with brand new. I just consider cost of maintenance. By doing this, I stopped all mag problems. O/H exchange is a crap shoot, usually craps. There is some belief out there you can O/H or IRAN these things forever which is not true. When Continental bought Bendix mags, they were appalled at the condition of the core inventory and that is why they junked them all and replaced the cores with new. 5 years ago if you bought an O/H exchange Bendix mag, it was a highly likely it was a brand new unit. There needs to be a revision on how we view magnetos. They are not capable of more than a few O/H or IRANS, then they are done. I will bet if you start doing some work with a precision optical comparator one would be truly amazed at what we reinstall back into our airplanes for ignition units.

Consider Subscribing and Fly Along! Fun flight to Smoketown Airport (S37) for some BBQ. Formation flight with Kevin in his Tiger Aircraft. Avoiding some clouds to stay VFR. I went over some options on the Dynon SkyView HDK and some takes offs from Smoketown. Thanks for Flying Along! Subscribe to PilotFun101 Films: YouTube.com/PilotFun101 Proudly Sponsored By: Special Thank You to - Moyer Aviation http://www.moyeraviation.com/ Bose Aviation - https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/aviation_headsets.html Proud Partners: Special Thank You to Dynon Avionics - https://www.dynonavionics.com/ (Best All-In-One System) Elevation Adventures Flight School - https://www.elevation-adventures.com/ Use Promotion Code PilotFun101 for 10% off all courses!! GoPro - https://gopro.com/en/us/ (HERO 5,7,& 8 ) Foreflight - https://foreflight.com/ My Favorite Aviation App for Pilots Aviation Oil Outlet - https://aviationoiloutlet.com/ Best prices for pilots (FREE SHIPPING) E-mail - PilotFun101@gmail.com Follow me - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PilotFun101/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pilotfun101/ Transponder - Lynx L3 - https://www.l-3lynx.com/ Best All-In-One transponder for pilots. GPS - Avidyne IFD540 - https://www.avidyne.com/ Audio Panel - https://www.ps-engineering.com/ Check out aviation fun stuff on Amazon https://www.amazon.com This Video is for entertainment purposes only and is not to be considered flight instruction in any way. Please contact your local CFI for flight instruction.

Since #2 radio is good I wouldn't mess with it, not even for troubleshooting purposes. It is possible there are coax and/or coax connector issues with the 530. The antenna connectors for the Garmin 530 antennas are type BNC female. There are four of them. Make sure that the com and nav and glideslope (g/s) connectors have not been swapped. If someone has confused them that could ruin the comm performance. If that's not it, then carefully measure the comm antenna coaxial cable performance.

I recently had a similar issue with my VR and a loose wire. The VR should have an adjustment screw to raise of lower your constant flow from the Alt. We 1st did the breaker check. Turn on the master check where and when the VR starts reporting odd numbers. Use the voltage meter to check the wires etc. (found one loose on the alt but not burned like yours). Replaced the VR with plane power VR. Adjusted VR to approx 14. All is good now! Sounds like VR adjustment screw to me. Not a professional and worked with JD over at SWTA to solve my issues! If you need anything talk with JD at SWTA in Smithville, TX.

I'm equally suspicious of other indicators. The gauge you can continuously monitor and see that it is working. I would much rather have both a gauge and a light indicator. Naa. I would much prefer to get rid of the vacuum and go with all electric with a backup battery. Just waiting for approval from the home office. Just checked my POH to be sure. The 1975 C did not have a gauge, just an annunciator. Guess my gauge was added later. The 1976 models had a gauge but no annunciator. Glad mine has both.

Here is what worked for me to fix the poor GTX345R bluetooth signal in the cockpit when the 345 is mounted behind the baggage compartment. It involves two steps but resulted in excellent reception and I can now get all the FIS-B weather products as well as TIS-B traffic on my iPad which is mounted to the yoke in my Ovation 3GX. Also, I didn't have to add an antenna or reposition my transponder like some forum participants have recommended. Step 1: Replacing the aluminum oxygen bottle access panel in the aft bulkhead of the baggage compartment with a plastic one (thanks to someone else on this forum for suggesting that) improved my bluetooth signal to the point where I could at least pair my iPad to the GTX345R but the signal was not good enough to stay connected all time nor good enough to receive all that ADS-B had to offer. Step 2: Remove the mylar covering on the aft side of the baggage compartment carpeted panel only in the area where it mates to the new plastic panel installed in step 1. I cut through the mylar covering with a razor blade only about 1/16" deep into the foam insulation. I used a putty knife to constantly separate the foam from the mylar, while I was removing the mylar, in order to leave as much of the foam insulation intact as possible. Be ready for some work. The mylar is really stuck well to the foam. Please see the attached pics .

Something for @OSUAV8TER to take in... OSU knows fuel caps... Water spread across the bottom of the tank will have a tendency to pool up near the fuel pick-up line when the nose is raised.... Be sure to sump the tanks. Experience from the past... enough rain gets in the tank and the fuel sample cup is full with only one color... if you are unsure if that is clear or light blue... spit in it. Looking to see the spit sink. -a-

This probably doesn’t help your specific problem, but I’ll still say it... There are as many start techniques as MS members, but I believe your poh says to start with the mixture lean. Practices vary, and some people start with the mixture in various positions (i use about 1/3 Pulled out). Once you get it started, the very next thing is to lean it until just barely idles smooth. This is pretty well established. If you open the throttle slowly in this condition, it should stumble and not accelerate. You will have to add mixture to taxi. You can do your runup at full rich (although some people will do this relatively lean too). Every time you stop lean it back out. After landing, same thing, lean it aggressively. If you’re pretty anal about this, you can make it through a whole year without fouling a plug or finding lead deposits at annual or having “slightly wet plugs”. So if I added power to taxi on my engine it will stumble too... and that would remind me to richen it slightly to taxi. If I tried to takeoff like this it will stumble and/or die totally.